Car construction.



T. DUNBAR & L. J. BERG.

v GAR CONSTRUCTION. APPLIOATION. FILED 11.13.19, 1908. RENEWED MAY 17, 1909.

Patented June 29, 1909.

aSHEBTS-SHEBT 1.

UNITED sTATEs P TENT OFFICE.

THOMAS DU'NBAR AND LABS J. BERG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR'S TO PULLMAN COMPANY, OFGHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CAR CONSTRUCTION.

- To alt-whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS DUNBAR and LABS J. BERG, both citizens of the United States, and both residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Car Construction, of which the following is a specification.

the outer'sheathin one embodiment 0 the present invention;'

This invention relates more especially to the construction and reinforcement of a car body whereby the weight and strain of the car will be equally distributed without the necessity for employin the usual number of exterior brace rods and struts on the bottom of the car, whereby the appearance of the car will be improved and the s ace beneath the car, required for the at tac necessary as and other apparatus, willbe ent of the unbroken bracings.

' Another object of 'theinvention is to more strongly reinforce theends of the car against y the usual number of exterior telescoping actionand provide, within the walls of the car, suitable bracings which will support the middle of the car in'equilibrium with the ends of the car, whereby sagging at any point will be prevented.

Another object of the invention is to so secure the end reinforcing structures that they 30- connection of the intermediate brace bars;

will serve as permanent anchor plates for the and, a futtheibbj'ect of theinvention is to provide means whereby the-braces may be adjustedfrom suitable and convenient positions.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a' side elevation of the lower part of a car body, showing removed and showing Fig. 2' a cross sectional view, taken through the sills of the car floor, showing the exterior cross truss beneath the car; Fig. 3 a cross sec tional view, taken throu' h the wall of the car near the end thereof; ig. 4 a top or plan view of the truss of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a slightly modified arrangement of the connecting brace bar;

and Fig. 6 a view similar to F1 2, showing the formation of the truss em oyed in connection with the structure of' 5. I

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the invention s applied to a car having outer side sills v Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed lunch 19, ieoaserial No. 422,062. Renewed May 17, 1909. Serial No. 496,649.

Patented June 29, 1909.

similar formation. The upper bar termi-' nates, at its ends, in flat tongues 14, which abut a ainst the outer car sills and are secured thereto by means of a pair of bolt rods 15, which rods de end from and are secured to a saddle 16, t e function of which will hereinafter appear. Depending from the lower cross bar 12, near the ends thereof, are a pair of bracket lu s 17 of inverted U formation, which are a apted to receive a pair of inner longitudinally extending brace rods 18, of the usual character, each of the brace rods being formed in two sections, united together by the usual turnbuckle 19, located intermediate the two transverse trusses.

In the course of ordinary construction, it is customary to provide four brace rods similar to the rods 18 instead of two; and one of the objects of the present invention is to disense with the. two outer brace rods, thereby caving a greater space beneath the car unoccupied by external bracings. In place of the exterior brace rods, a air of brace bars 20 are provided, one in eac of the side walls of thecar, which bars, at their ends, are anchored to the inner upper edge of an anchor plate 21, which lies within the wall of the car near the end thereof and serves the double function of providing an anchorage for the brace-bars and providing a reinforcement a ainst telescoping in case of collision. Each of the anchor lates extends continuousl within the wal from the extreme end of t e car to a osition beyond the truck hearing, so that t e ends of the car, on both sides, are heavily reinforced against telescoping action. Each of the anchor plates extends from the outer sill 7 substantially up to the window line, and is secured, at its lower. edge, to the sill by means of an angle plate 22, the flanges of which abut against the ,105

inner face of the anchor plate and the top face of the sill, respectively, and are secured thereto by bolts 23 and 24, respectively. The upper edge of the plate is relnforced by a lon itudinally extending reinforcing bar 25, an the plate is further reinforced, at suitable intervals, by flanged angle plates 26, which are riveted or otherwise secured to the anchor plat-c and occupy spaces intermediate the vertical posts 27 of the car wall, to which posts the anchor plate is further secured in any suitable manner. The brace bar 26 is secured, at its ends, to the upper inner colners of companion anchor plates at opposite ends of the car, and the bar is of the formalion shown, comprising sloping end portions 2-8 and a connecting center longitudinal portion 29, which latter lies parallel with and immediately above the outer sill of the car body and is held adjacent thereto by being passed through the two saddles 16 on the same side of the car. It will be understood that Fig. 1 illustrates but one end of a car, which is duplicated at the other end. The bolt rods 15 with Which the saddle is connected are provided, on their lower ends, with nuts 31, which permit adjustment of the saddle whereby tension of the brace bar can be regulated; but in order to more fully provide for the regulation of the brace bar, a turnbuckle 32 is inserted in each sloping end section of the brace barwithin the wall of the car. The brace bars are preferably of a length whereby the middle or horizontal sections 29 will be elevated slightly above the upper faces of the side-sills, whereby sufficlent adjustment will be permitted to regulate the tension of the bars.

The construction of Figs. 5 and 6 difiers slightly from that hitherto described, in that the brace bars 33, instead of being entirely above the side sills, are given a suflicient pitch to permit. them to pass diagonally through the side sills and are carried through U brackets 34 on the ends of the cross truss, the middle sections of each of the bars lying slightly below instead of slightly above the surface of the side sill through which it isentered; Likewise, in place of the saddles and adjusting bolts hitherto described, turnbuckles 35'are provided, one in the middle of each of the brace bars, as shown.

In either'form ofconstruction, the function of the brace bars is the same, in that said bars serve to hold the car in a condition of equilibrium, the outwardly projecting ends of the car serving to balance the weight of the middle of the car, and vice versa. By locating the side brace bars within the side wall instead of below it, the ends of the bars are entered a very considerable distance above the floor line of the car, whereby the pull /or draw of the bars will tend to prevent sagging of the ends without the necessity for providing a complicated cantaliver wall conwhich, being secured to the upper rear cor 11ers of the anchor plates, tend, when tightened, to tilt up the ends of the cars and counteract the tendency to sag; and in like manner the center of the car is supported by the brace bars, the weight of the centeripoi tion of the car serving to balance the com bined weights of the ends of the car. In addition to the advantages above enumerated, the space beneath the car is left unimpeded to a considerable extent and the ap earance' of the car improved generally. urthermore, a veryeasy method is provided for regulating the tension of the brace bars, the regulating means being easily accessible for this purpose. The brace bars and anchor plates of the present invention are intended to more satisfactorily accomplish the function of the old style cantaliver construction and exterior brace rods by simplifying and cheapening the cost of building the car body and at the same time increasing the strength, durability and appearance of the completed structure.

WVhat we regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a car structure, the combination of, brace bar in the wall of the car, said bar being elevated at its ends and depressed in its center, anchor plates located in the wall of the car to which the ends of the bar are secured a considerable distance above the floor line of the car, and means for securing the depressed Cportion of the bar to the car body interme iate the trucks, substantially'as described.

2. In a car structure, the combination of side sills, anchor plates located in the walls of the car near the ends thereof, brace bars' in the walls of the car, said bars having their ends elevated above thefloorline of the car and secured to the anchor lates and having their centers depressed, and. means for securing the depressed ortions of the brace bars to the side sills o the car intermediate the trucks of the car, substantially as described.

3 In a car structure, the combination of side sills, anchor plates secured to the sills at the ends of the car and extending upward within the walls of the car, brace rods elevatedat their ends and depressed in their centers, and secured at their ends to the anchor plates above the floor line of the car, transverse truss structures extending below the sills of the car, and means for securing the brace barsto the ends'of the truss structures, substantially as described.

4. In a car structure, the combination of side sills, anchor plates secured to the sills at the ends of the car and-extending upward within the sills of the car, brace rods elevated at their ends and depressed in their centers,

and secured at their ends to the anchor plates.

above the floor line of the car, transverse truss structures extending below the sills of the car, and saddles embracing the depressed portions of the brace bars and having bolt rods extending through the sills'and connected with the ends of the truss structures for sup orting the center of the car, substantiall as described.

5. In a car structure, the combination of side sills, anchor plates secured to the ends of the side sills and lying within the walls of the car and extending upwardly a considerable distance above the floor line of the car, brace rods inside of the walls and having sloping ends and a longitudinally extending intermediate portion, the ends being connected to the inner upper corners of the anchor plates, and means for securing the depressed portions of the bars to the side sills to support the center of the car, substantially as described.

6 in a car structure, the combination of side sills, anchor plates secured to the ends of the side sills and king within the walls of the car and extending upwardly a considerable distance above the floor line of the car, brace rods inside of the walls and having sloping ends and a longitudinally extending int rm di te portion, the ends being connected to the inner upper corners of the anchor plates, two transversely extending truss structures, saddles embracing the middle portions of the bars and provided with bolt rods anchored through the sills and through the ends of the truss structures, and nuts on the ends of the bolts for regulating the ten-- sion of the saddles, substantially as described.

7. In a car structure, the combination of side sills, anchor plates rigidly secured to the side sills and extending upwardly therefrom substantially to the window line of the car wall, said plates extending from the ends of the car inwardly to a point behind the hearing points for the car, brace rods within the side walls of the car, said rods comprising sloping end portions connected to the inner upper corners of the anchor plates and hori zontal connecting portions, and means for securing the horizontal connecting portions of the brace bars to the side sills of the car intermediate the truck bearing points, sub- 

